from the editor

practice

Heidi Machul, an architecture intern who graduated from Ball State University four years ago, has her eye on the prize—a professional license. Most people in her position are still racking up internship hours. But by industry standards she's ahead of schedule, having already taken and passed three...

residential architect design awards

project of the year

Not since the glory days of Modernism have high design and high-rise housing often coexisted. Most residential skyscrapers experience so much value-engineering, even the best architects struggle to give them a bit of character.

custom / more than 3,500 square feet

The dramatic Feinstein residence crests on a slim band of mountainside land that tapers gradually into the ocean. Built for a bachelor dentist, it's transparent, hygienic, contemporary, and fire-resistant.

Jonathan Segal, FAIA, can't resist a challenge. When building his own house, the San Diego–based architect/builder/developer chose an irregularly shaped lot in busy downtown La Jolla, right across from the town's commercial center.

custom / 3,500 square feet or less

Most of the cabins around this summer residence run parallel to the shoreline and sit as close to the water as possible. Asked to design a replacement for a cabin that had burned down, David Salmela proposed something a little more interesting.

Just about every design decision architect Ivo Venkov made on this project—the home (and office) he shares with his wife and fellow architect, Rossi Venkov—related back to the site, a steep hillside overlooking the Pacific.

It's a significant accomplishment when an architect is entrusted with a Richard Neutra house. Peter Grueneisen has had the good fortune to work on this particular 1949 Neutra design not just once, but twice—and for two different clients.

It's one to thing to overhaul a poorly designed home by an unknown architect, but things get trickier when the house is a classic mid-century Modern by Charles Goodman and sustainability is integral to the program.

Not since the glory days of Modernism have high design and high-rise housing often coexisted. Most residential skyscrapers experience so much value-engineering, even the best architects struggle to give them a bit of character.

With its bold colors, connection to the outdoors, and clever product specs, Chelsea Court is unlike most affordable housing projects. Indeed, said the judges, “it challenges the expectation of what that level of housing can be.”

campus housing

Mark Horton / Architecture, San Francisco. This nifty little dormitory had to please a roll call of constituencies. (Or, as architect Mark Horton tactfully offers, “it had to moderate a number of different conditions.”)

outbuilding

The judges praised this charming little pavilion's “strong plan” and “nice proportions.” Conceived as a family retreat on a larger property containing an existing main house, the project presented Lake/Flato Architects with an opportunity to design a building that serves purely as a getaway...

kitchen

A strong concept and refined detailing bring unity to this second-floor living space. The owners, a photographer and his wife, asked Jay Serrao, AIA, to create a lively kitchen, dining area, and living room that would flex for entertaining.

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the high life

For more than four decades, Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City has reigned as one of '' Chicago's signature landmarks. Famously dubbed the “corncob towers,” the 60-story mixed-use complex houses 900 apartments, located above the buildings' 20th levels for prime city and lake views.

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fabprefab.com

a web resource dedicated to tracking developments in the realm of modernist prefab dwellings.